


I Love It When You Look My Way

by Heartfulkings



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Every ship except for SolDaveKat are past relationships mentioned, Except for Gamrezi :/, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Hijinks & Shenanigans, M/M, Multi, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Polyamory, Quadrant Confusion, Roommates, Secret Sufferer Exchange 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:48:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27568546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heartfulkings/pseuds/Heartfulkings
Summary: In which moirals Sollux Captor and Karkat Vantas are both pining over their mutual roommate Dave Strider, and decide to take action in the most moronic way possible.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, Gamzee Makara/Terezi Pyrope, Sollux Captor/Aradia Megido, Sollux Captor/Dave Strider, Sollux Captor/Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, Sollux Captor/Karkat Vantas, Terezi Pyrope/Dave Strider
Kudos: 33
Collections: KTS Secret Sufferer 2020





	I Love It When You Look My Way

**Author's Note:**

  * For [demonessofmusic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonessofmusic/gifts).



> What’s good? So I wrote this for the 2020 Secret Sufferer exchange, hosted on the Karkat Thirst server on discord. Happy Holidays!!!!

Sollux leans back in his computer pile, looking as smug as can be which is the cue for Karkat to pause in whatever he’s doing. He will, but not without bitching about it.  
“WOW! IT SURE HAS BEEN A WHOLE FUCKING THIRTY MINUTES WITHOUT HAVING MY PERSONAL FUCKING SPACE ENROACHED UPON! OF COURSE I CAN’T HAVE ANY MORE THAN HALF AN HOUR TO MYSELF WITHOUT SOME PANDRAINED BASTARD WALTZING ON IN LIKE HE OWNS THE FUCKING PLACE THAT I’M SUPPOSED TO HAVE MY SHARE OF.”

“Stop being such a little bitch boy kk,” Sollux says, which draws Karkat’s attention to the pile where he’s lying in a relaxed position. His shirt collar is loose enough to show delicate collarbones, sweatpants holding on for dear life on starved hips. Karkat is stunned with a momentary feeling that extends past pale pity. Only momentarily, he reminds himself, as he joins his moirail in the pile. 

“You’re gonna crush all my keyboards under your fatass.” 

“What kind of fucking moron builds a pile of precarious tech parts? You. You are the fucking moron,” Karkat grouses. Sollux responds by kicking his sock covered foot in his face, which Karkat pushes off as he adjusts.

Silence amongst moirails is never a good thing. It symbolizes both parties' reluctance to share unfettered emotions, which is a violation of the very bond that makes up the pale quadrant and blah blah, this is about Dave isn’t it. Karkat says so out loud which earns Solluxs’ derision.

“Who said this is about Dave?

“Everything about your melodrama today. Usually you’d be hanging around your good buddy Dave, but instead you’re here for a bitchfest with me.”

“Wh- KK are you _jealous_?”

Karkat blanches at the concept. “Fuck you you self centered piece of shit.” 

“Oh come on I know how needy you can get. Trust me, I’m not at all pale for the pretentious douche. And he’s- did you hear?”

“Hear what?” 

“About TZ and Dave.” 

Oh. 

Oh. 

Karkat jostles Sollux with his hip. “I wonder how that went. Ohhhh mister Strider, please woo me with your stupid fucking music that all has the same beat.”

“Ooooh mister Strider sexually stimulate me in your filthy pigsty of a room.”

“Ooooh mister Strider please follow me into the bathroom to show me some memes while I need to shit.”

“Hehehehe. Remember when Strider asked her out to the eighth grade formal?”

“Didn’t he use a pizza box and decorated it with glitter spelling out Prom?” 

“Shit man I think I still have the pictures lmao. The weirdest thing about this is TZ agreeing to get with him after seeing Strider’s acne phase.” 

Karkat leans back and grins. “To be fair, Aradia was willing to date you even though you still look like a stunted ass wriggler.” 

“Go fuck yourself.” 

Karkat spies the slow unknotting of tension in Sollux’s forehead and he can almost set the original subject out of mind. Almost, but it’s hard to forget what bothers Karkat just as much as his moirail.

It would reflect poorly on his part if Sollux didn’t notice how Karkat retreated inwards at the mention of both Dave Strider and Terezi Pyrope. From what he’s heard from the grapevine just barely holding their psycho of a friend group together, the two are going flushed. 

Gossiping, as it turns out, doesn’t actually seem to hold as much influence as it did in high school, upon reflection. The fact that he had to be the one to break the news instead of Karkat receiving the amount of texts Sollux had been bombarded with, might just have to do with the group’s silent agreement to never hurt Karkat.

It’s bound to be rough news regardless. On one end there’s his meltdown of a relationship between him and Terezi. Sollux isn’t sure whether he was trying for red or black considering how back and forth he treated her, but he’s never been the type to commit fully black. Karkat would never admit it, though it’s kind of hard to overlook how sappily he looks at Dave despite claiming to only hold interest in a caligonus context.

Speaking of denial, there’s Dave. Dave is… interesting. A fulfilling rival, for sure. His passive aggressiveness is just enough to fuel Sollux’s bouts of energy, enough to drive him to the point of straight up aggressive competition. Yet, when things calm down, more accurately when Sollux collapses from hacking Dave’s pesterchum or whatever, there’s always someone throwing a blanket across his back with motions far too quiet to be Karkat. Not...this isn’t about him.

Sollux and Karkat are acting weird- it’s as if this is a recurring theme in a written story. If that were the case Dave might know what to do. Things would be so much easier if provided a script, or even a predictable chain of cliches. Like Karkat’s rom coms. 

The last time Dave spent movie night sandwiched between his two roommates, he actually found himself drawn to the plot for lack of anything better to do. Karkat had given an extensive analysis on the downright offensive portrayal of vacilitating relationships but all you can really focus on is the scene where like the main character is drunk off her ass, and the main dude helps her out. That scene didn’t exactly strike you as romantic- really it’s more him you and Karkat operate. Dave extends a helping hand and he fucking rejects like the meanest baby bird pecking the shit out of his mother’s proffered beak, the worm absolutely losing it’s shit trying to escpape the mother’s grasp. The point is, the real significance of that scene was lost on Dave until he noticed Sollux and Karkat exchanging meaningful glances and blushing. All doki doki and like. That’s when it hit him that his roommates have more than platonic feelings towards each other. 

Alright, fine. This is fine; Dave’s done his part in playing Third Wheel before, mostly due to Rose and Kanaya’s bullshitery. The problem with this arrangement in particular is that Sollux and Karkat seem to have no qualms with dragging him into their drama. 

It starts with Karkat inviting Dave and Sollux to a house party before immediately ditching the two. Dave and Sollux spend the time by the punch bowl and making fun of everyone’s shitty dancing like a couple of cliches. The mood is almost dampered when he asks whether Sollux and Karkat are fighting. 

“Why would we be fighting? Let the man have his space, fucks sake Strider.”

“I dunno dude y’all are like fragile little flowers- i bet your feelings jams are a just echo chambers of jerking off to the overpowering stank of self hatred.” Dave takes a hard swig of his mystery drink and winces at his wording. “I mean I bet your relationship is stable as fuck though not tryna shit on that but still look me straight in the fucking eye and tell me there hasn’t been some spicy behind the scenes discord like come on bro you can tell me. I’m the goddamn love guru you can be honest with me.”  
“Oh thank fuck! If there’s one worry that’s for sure plagued me this whole time, it’s getting your approval over my personal relationships,” Sollux says wryly. There’s a line that has uh. Evidently been crossed. 

Dave saves the day by making fun of Sollux’s lisp and the party turns out to be a pretty good time. 

When Sollux invites Dave to study with him at the library, only to not show up at all, he starts to entertain the idea of something being up. Still, in a serendipitous stroke of luck, Dave runs into Karkat.

Something about being left alone with Karkat, who obviously thinks little of him makes Dave fidget in his seat nervously. Karkat shoots him an odd look. 

“What the fuck was that?” 

“What was what?” 

Karkat seems to consider throwing a huge shitfit, one for the ages before shaking his head and turning back to the textbook sprawled between them. Dave won’t lie, that’s a real disappointment. Still, the two bicker over assignments until Karkat gets them kicked out. Dave, ever the gentlemen, offers to pay for lunch at a nearby diner, and they’re halfway through desert when Sollux shows up. 

Dave half expects things to be awkward but Karkat scoots over and Sollux drapes himself bonelessly over him. 

Okay. So they aren’t fighting. If they aren't fighting, what’s with the whole avoidance between each other? He isn’t exactly sure what to make of this, aside from going along with things like a good friend does. 

The next time Dave takes Terezi on a date, a real fancy crepe place, she comments on the situation. Blase, pointing her fork towards his face in a manner that can almost be threatening. 

“I can tell the pale dream team is shirking on their duties!” 

Of course she can tell, Dave’s kept her updated on everything. He likes to think he’s imagining Terezi’s steadily increasing annoyance whenever the subject is brought up. He’s not dumb, she’s for sure tired. Maybe just tired of him. That being said, he isn’t all too sure why Terezi would bring the subject up first this time. 

Dave keeps things succinct and casual. “Look man idk what’s going on. I feel like I’m being used as a chaperone. Like they simply _can’t_ let themselves be alone together or else something _scandalous_ might happen. Maybe I should wear goddamn fanny pack and start premature balding, standing off to the side and making awkward small talk with the pta moms, ready to pull out a comically large ruler for when the lovebirds dance a lil too close you know not letting Jesus or troll Jesus get enough breathing room goddamn maybe I should pass out like condoms or someshit to be really embarrasing...”

“Comically large you say?” Terezi says and then laughs. Not so harshly as usual, something more self deprecating but Dave goes along with it. Today something is off, like how everything else seems to be off. Terezi seems tired, like going on dates has become a chore now. Dave tries to stab at an actually emotionally revealing talk, because he is an emotionally revealing person. It’s brushed aside like anything deeper than small talk. 

Terezi doesn’t say anything about the conversation from that point even when it sours further, and doesn’t say anything when he makes no move to kiss her all night. 

Instead, when Dave suggests heading to his place, he gets a mild, “I promised Gamzee I’d visit,” in response. Which. Fair enough. 

TA: 2o you iinviited u2 two a party, a 2cene that we all know ii don't fuck wiith, ju2t two diitch me wiith 2triider, who untiil then ha2 never deiigned two hold a ciiviil fuckiing conver2atiion wiith me.

CG: AND YOU STOOD HIM UP AT THE FUCKING LIBRARY OF ALL GODDAMN PLACES, WHERE I JUST *HAPPENED* TO BE.

TA: ...

CG: ...

CG: SINCE WHEN DID WE BECOME SO PATHETICALLY DESPERATE?

TA: the 2econd we re2iigned our 2elve2 two a fate of iinceliibacy.

Karkat spends the night in Sollux’s lap. It at first starts with the two looking for a stupid distraction from knowing where Dave is, beating each other at MarioKart and subsequently getting into a yelling match which then advances into sloppy makeouts. Well, before the sloppy makeouts came an emotionally revealing conversation because they are emotionally revealing people. 

When the door opens Karkat nearly falls off the couch, only saved by a pair of strong hands righting his posture. 

Dave backs off a little, a sheepish look on his face. “Yeah uh that’s totally my bad, what the Hell is wrong with me? I spend the whole time bitching about you guys not getting your act together and then I show up and almost fucking kill the moment I think Imma head out again uh, sorry-” 

“Wait,” Sollux says, “Were you seriously gossiping about us? On a date?” 

“In my defense it gets tiring being the cockblock of the relationship.” 

At this rate Karkat is shaking with righteous indignation and only being stilled by Sollux’s hand at his back. “SERIOUSLY?? YOU THINK WE WANT YOU AS A COCKBLOCK? FUCK OFF AND DIE.”

“KK means to say I’ve been trying to set you up with him,” Sollux translates. “And I guess he’s been trying to set you up with me which he didn’t fucking deign to let me know until tonight.” 

Dave just stands there hands in pockets with an indiscernible frown. “Is there like an underground gossip board I’m missing out on because I literally could not have seen that coming at all. Wait shit is that why TZ left me for the clown? Did you two scare my girlfriend off?”

“No? That just means you’re a cuck. Maybe the real treasure was becoming a cuck all along.” 

In lieu of indulging this increasingly stupid conversation, Karkat waves him over. “In case this isn’t crystal fucking clear, we’re inviting you to join in.” 

Dave accepts with no hesitation, making the couch weep as the three of them try to find a way to be as close to each other as possible. They double team Dave; Karkat at his neck and Sollux attacking his face. 

It’s an uncomfortable position, but none could really say it’s unpleasant in the slightest. In fact, Karkat thinks being awkwardly squashed against his brand new matesprits makes all that bullshit dancing around almost worth it.


End file.
